Menu
Media

ESPN's Burke Magnus Says Network Has "High Expectations" For '17 "MNF" Schedule

ESPN Exec VP/Programming & Scheduling Burke Magnus has “high expectations” for the ’17 “MNF” schedule, set to be announced tonight with the rest of the NFL slate. In recent seasons, the “MNF” schedule has been widely viewed as the NFL’s weakest national package. But Magnus said yesterday at the ’17 CAA World Congress of Sports he is optimistic for a series of strong matchups. “We’ve had very candid conversations with the NFL, particularly in the last six months, about our expectations from a quality perspective,” said Magnus, who added he has not yet seen the schedule. Magnus: “We have high expectations because we’ve been as engaged with the league as we ever have been in terms of what the results are going to be. We’ve done everything we can possibly do to communicate with the league and guide them in terms of our preferences, and now we’ll see.” Magnus went on to predict that NFL ratings will be up next season for all of the league’s broadcast partners, and praised NFL Senior VP/Broadcasting & Media Operations Howard Katz for “taking a very limited set of inventory and dispersing it across all of his broadcast partnerships" (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer). PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio writes the effort to improve the schedule "underscores the challenges ESPN currently faces." In past years, before tens of thousands of people who were "paying the monthly subscription fee for the multiple versions of the four-letter network without ever watching any of them cut the cord on cable, the quality of the NFL contests wasn’t an issue." Now, the net "needs better matchups in order to lure customers back to the product, regardless of how they pay for it." Florio: "Here’s the problem: The NFL schedule is a zero-sum game." With 256 finite matchups, the league will have to "rob" CBS, Fox and NBC to give ESPN some better games, and those nets "won’t like that" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 4/20).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

Sports Business Awards nominees unveiled; NWSL's historic opening weekend and takeaways from CFP deal

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, BTN’s Meghan McKeown, and a deep dive into AppleTV+’s The Dynasty

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2017/04/20/Media/MNF.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2017/04/20/Media/MNF.aspx

CLOSE